I like Bobbi Brown’s Sparkle formula, because it doesn’t have as much fall out as other sparkly eyeshadows, though it is not immune to it. Taupe has minor fall out where there are some detectable stray sparkles underneath the lid, but not enough that the person standing next to you would ask, “What’s that on your face?” The texture is smooth and almost feels wet to the touch, but it glides on well and the sparkles bind and adhere with the underlying color. It has good color payoff, and it wore for eight hours with minor fall out but no fading or creasing.

It had very good pigmentation, and it applied mostly opaquely when I was testing it, both on my arm as well as on the lid. This shade had a really lovely, buttery and creamy consistency that helped it apply smoothly over the skin. The finish is on the more metallic side, and frostier shades tend to be easier to blend, as this one was. Depending on your skin tone, the metallic finish, combined with rich color payoff, may make this too stark, but the neutral undertone will help. It lasted eight hours well on the lid, and after nine hours, there was very faint creasing (without a primer).

This shade can also be found in Benefit’s Sexiest Nudes Ever Palette, which contains four eyeshadows and two Creaseless Cream Shadows for $30.00 (the eyeshadows are 0.04 oz. each, and the cream eyeshadows are 0.11 oz. each, but it’s still a way better deal than buying this eyeshadow on its own unless you LOVE this one and loathe all the others). I love the idea behind the palettes, and I think it’s great that they’re available individually, but the pricing/quantity is presenting an argument that’s difficult to ignore.

MAC Embrace Me Eyeshadow ($15.00 for 0.05 oz.) is described as a “soft pink [with a satin finish].” It’s a bold, deepened raspberry pink with a matte finish–it may be listed as a satin, but it read very matte when I applied it! MAC More Amour is more subdued, less pink. MAC Tease with Ease is cooler-toned, pinker, and satiny. MAC passionate is barely warmer–a little brighter.

Embrace Me had excellent pigmentation–it was rich, intense, and applied that way, too. The texture was soft, finely-milled, and easy to blend out on the lid. It didn’t have any dryness, and it didn’t kick up a ton of excess powder or look powdery on the lid. It was nicely balanced in regards to texture (not too dry, not too soft), and it is an example of when MAC’s matte formula can shine. This shade lasted eight full hours–both with and without primer–on the lid without fading or creasing, but I did notice it would stain the lid somewhat when worn without a primer; after nine hours, there was a smidgen of fading without a primer.

MAC Silly Eyeshadow ($15.00 for 0.05 oz.) is described as a “clean blue pink [with a frost finish].” It’s a light-medium pink with blue undertones and a mostly matte finish (there is no frost in sight). MAC Dynamic Duo #4 is a bit lighter (and so much sheerer/drier that they’re not easy to compare). Guerlain Boulevard du Montparnasse #3 is similar in color but frosted. MAC for Miss Piggy looks rather similar in the pan (but it had poorer quality, so they don’t look as much alike swatched). MAC Feather Pink is slightly lighter and has a satiny finish.

It had good color payoff that was mostly opaque applied. The texture had a very slight powderiness to it when I swatched it, but it seemed to be minimized when applied–but there was some excess powder kicked up in the pan, so be gentle with your brush to avoid waste. Silly was blendable, but it did have a tendency to sheer out somewhat when blended, so the best application method would be to pat it on, and then very lightly blend along the edges only as needed to maintain the intensity. When I tested it for wear, the eyeshadow lasted seven hours before starting to fade without a primer; nine hours with a primer.

Ablaze had good color payoff, and the texture was soft and blendable–but a little powdery. I recommend patting the product onto the lid to achieve the best pigmentation, and then lightly blending along the edges. This will help both the color and minimize any fall out from the powdery texture. On the lid, it doesn’t look chalky or powdery, though. Applied over bare lids, this shade lasted seven and a half hours well, and just after eight, it started to fade. Over a primer, I didn’t see any fading when I checked at eight hours.

It had so-so color payoff; it applied fairly evenly, but there was a general sheerness to the color that kept it from looking as rich applied as it did in the pan. The texture was soft, though, and it was easy to blend–and some of MAC’s recent matte eyeshadows have been more problematic in both payoff and texture. This one is somewhat buildable, and a good primer and/or white base both go a long way to improving the pigmentation, as both help the eyeshadow become more intense and to adhere better. Without a primer, it had a tendency to look noticeably faded after six and a half hours, but over a primer, the wear was mostly intact after eight hours.

When MAC finally launched the eyeshadows on their website, this shade was quick to sell out, but Nordstrom has it on backorder and shipping on 5/4.